WWF: All Star Wrestling
July 7, 1979
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Your current WWF champions are as follows:
WWF Heavyweight Champion: Bob Backlund (2/20/1978)
WWF North American Heavyweight Champion: Pat Patterson (6/23/1979)
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Johnny & Jerry Valiant (3/24/1979)

Pop Culture #1s of the Time:
#1 Movie of the Week: Moonraker starring Roger Moore
#1 Song of the Week: Ring My Bell by Anita Ward
#1 TV Show of the 78-79 Season: Laverne & Shirley starring Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams

Follow along if you have the WWE Network!

The following wrestling exhibition requires discretionary viewer participation.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino.

• Tito Santana vs. Mark Pole

They trade hiptosses to start. Somebody in the crowd really thought that was funny. Pole corners Santana and gives him a closed fist shot which just pisses off Tito. Santana shows us how short his fuse really is and then slams Pole for a jumping legdrop and the victory in 2:17.

• Pat Patterson (w/The Grand Wizard) vs. Bill Berger

This is our first look at Pat Patterson as the *new* WWF North American heavyweight champ. Apparently, Berger doesn’t like his head smashed on the turnbuckle because he gets MAD and smashes Pat’s head on the buckle several times. Patterson takes a powder to the apron to get this guy to calm down. Back in, Pat grabs a headlock on the mat and Berger pulls the hair to try and escape. When Berger gets to his feet, he smashes Patterson’s face on the buckle once more. After Patterson takes another powder, Berger grabs the hair to hold onto a headlock. Patterson rakes the eyes to get out of the hold and he is FURIOUS. The Grand Wizard protests to the ref because of all the cheating. If Berger wants to play dirty, he’s picked on the wrong guy. Patterson punches and chokes on Berger including the jumping straddle in the ropes. Just a nasty move. BOMBS AWAY knee drop connects and that’s all she wrote in 4:55.

Bruno Sammartino meets Pat Patterson and the Grand Wizard at ringside. Bruno asks Pat how can he wear the North American title knowing he cheated to win the championship. Patterson doesn’t really care what Bruno or the people think because he’s in wrestling to make MONEY and the way you make money is winning titles. Patterson vows the North American title won’t be the last championship he wins around here which is a not-so-subtle jab at Bob Backlund. Before we go, the Grand Wizard says everybody has excuses for when they lose championships, which pisses off Bruno who sends it back over to Vince.

SIDEBAR: What a lost concept. Professional wrestling is about making money and that’s all it is – in the kayfabe sense or as a shoot. Wrestling used to be filled with businessmen, but the business became flooded with a bunch of starving artists. Sure, wrestling has never been more athletic or more spectacular, but has never drawn less money or had less people invested.

After the break, Vince McMahon talks to Chief Jay Strongbow at ringside. He talks about how Bruno Sammartino’s support got him motivated to come back and how bad he felt knowing he couldn’t play with his kids while he was out thanks to Greg Valentine. This guy has no fire while talking about a guy who broke his leg. His attitude isn’t quite matching his words.

• Bulldog Brower (w/Captain Lou Albano) vs. Steve Travis

Brower headbutts Travis around and throws him to the floor as Travis meets gravity. Back inside, Brower doesn’t seem too interested to put this guy over. He puts Travis on the mat with an armbar and then applies a stomach claw. Okay, here we go. Travis starts punching Bulldog and he backpedals. Brower kicks him back and grabs a chinlock. He pulls the tights to keep Travis down on the mat. Meanwhile, Albano rolls up his sleeves to show off his biceps. Brower cuts off a comeback and applies the stomach claw again. Once more, Travis breaks free and comes back on Brower. He finds a chinlock, but Brower escapes and applies a bearhug. When Travis escapes the hold, they exchange blows until Brower backdrops him over the top rope to the floor for another hard bump as the time limit expires. (10:00) Pretty much the same thing over and over again until the time ran out. ½*

• The Colombian Jaguar vs. Jose Estrada

Here is our first look at the Colombian Jaguar. He spends a few months here in the WWF, but he is most well known for working within his motherland of Colombia. He’s even worked in movies playing El Santo. The Jaguar character is exactly what you would imagine: jaguar printed singlet, mask, and boots. He catches Estrada with a neck-tie headscissors to send him out to the floor. Back inside, Estrada grabs a headlock and pounds him down. Estrada puts a knee on the spine while pulling back on Jaguar’s chin. The Jaguar comes back with some weak punches and turns his back on Estrada. You can guess how that went. Estrada goes into Johnny Rodz mode by coming off the second rope lowering the boom on him. He follows up with a hotshot off the shoulders for two. Estrada goes to the eyes to shut down a comeback. He grabs a headscissors on the mat, but Jaguar escapes and does this hammerlock hiptoss move. Jaguar stretches the arms some more. They go to the mat and roll back and forth all over the mat until Jaguar winds up out of the ring. Back in, a judo toss from Estrada gets two. Jaguar gets away from Estrada with a fireman’s carry toss, but Estrada fires back with a backdrop. He tries another, but Jaguar surprises him with a sunset flip for the win. (7:52) Overall, a pretty dull contest. ¾*

• Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Mr. X

After Strongbow chops and knee lifts, Mr. X takes over grabbing the traps. Strongbow goes after the mask, but Mr. X gets away. Strongbow runs the ropes and slides under the legs to armdrag Mr. X around. Mr. X fights back to set up the WAR DANCE. Strongbow finds the SLEEPERHOLD and that’s gonna finish him off. (5:52) Strongbow wants to unmask Mr. X to wake him up, but ref Dick Whorle won’t allow it. Vince wonders if Mr. X would ever wake up on his own. HAHAHA. What the heck, Vince. ½*

That’s gonna do it for this week. Until next time, so long for now.